Enigma
by Devious Decepticon
Summary: A desperate college student offers to babysit for a place off the crime-filled streets of Detroit, and receives the most interesting reply...The only thing she didn't count on was becoming tangled in a war between two factions of giant transforming robots
1. Help Wanted

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! The Transformers are the sole property of Hasbro, and I'm merely a bored person who has nothing better to do with my time…

Note: NO FLAMES PLEASE! I'm always open to constructive criticism/beta offers. But being rude is seriously not cool. If you think my fic is THAT bad, then just stop reading it.

Summary: With the recent wave of crime sweeping Detroit, the Autobots are unable to keep a close optic on Sari. So when a local college student advertises to babysit, they immediately jump at the offer. Little do they know the chaos that will ensue...

Author's Note: Hi everybody! Yes…I'm taking another stab at writing a Transformers: Animated fanfitcion; my first one turned out horribly, so after a few tweakings, I've decided to give it another go. Let me know what you think, your feedback is always appreciated!

Enigma

Six months ago, Detroit was a pleasant, bustling city bursting with activity; throngs of people packed the sidewalks, and everyone seemed to take great pleasure in enjoying the outdoors as thoroughly as possible. But all of this seemed to change with the arrival of the Autobots.

Crime and justice are both situated on a delicate scale: whenever there is an excess of one, the other increases in volume to compensate the difference. With a colossal justice force situated at the edge of the city, the citizens believed that crime wouldn't stand a chance against these new heroes, that a long reign of peace was on the horizon. However, what they received was quite the opposite.

Crooks banded together in an effort to keep their scheme running, eventually creating a large underground crime network, where robberies, murders, and drug deals could be planned in secret. With their operations now safe from the prying eyes of the Detroit Police, the criminals ran rampant; backup had to be called in from different counties, and recruiting was stepped up tenfold. But despite this surge in effort, it wasn't quite enough to counteract the damage being done to the populace.

This meant more work for the Autobots, the kind souls that they were. Shifts became longer and longer, patrols covering more and more ground each day; more often, those unfortunate enough to be on duty would drag themselves into the base covered in dings, dents, and running low on energon, most times too exhausted to even carry on a conversation with their resident human friend, Sari.

"_Don't worry, men," _Optimus had said wearily after a particularly difficult day. "_I'm sure this crime spree'll die down eventually."_

But Optimus had been wrong. The crime wave worsened as time went on; thugs seemed to migrate in packs to the city, adding to the already thriving outlaw underground. At one point, Sari wasn't even 

allowed outside the base after sundown out of fear for her safety. There were no shifts anymore, because patrolling the city became a full time job; at any given time, one or two of the Autobots were outside the base running surveillance checks around the city…It had become an around-the-clock operation.

Thus far, the Autobots were confident in their ability to be both guardians of Sari, _and_ guardians of Detroit. But one night, she managed to get out of the base after dark; they'd found her playing on the jungle gym in the park by herself, with no less than a dozen criminals –possibly child molesters—watching her intently from behind some thick shrubbery.

It became chillingly clear that there simply _wasn't_ enough time between them to dedicate toward watching Sari. As intelligent as the girl was, no one could be trusted with public safety being as big of an issue as it was; even though she'd proved capable of caring for herself, the Autobots were still wary, and decided to enlist some outside help.

Before Bumblebee had left for his patrol, Optimus had requested that he return with human newspapers. "They contain advertisements of people offering their services for hire," he'd explained, answering the puzzlement of his smallest recruit.

And as promised, Bumblebee returned with dozens of daily papers, dumping them unceremoniously onto the floor of their living room before dragging himself upstairs to his recharge berth. Bulkhead and Prowl swapped out with the yellow scout, heading off into the night without being told, leaving Optimus and Ratchet to sift through the periodicals to find the "Classifieds" sections.

"Aha!" exclaimed the medic, triumphantly holding a couple folded pieces of paper between his fingertips. "Got it!"

With that, their search began. "We're looking for babysitters," muttered Optimus blandly as he skimmed through the narrow columns. "Not live-in nannies or housekeepers…"

After several moments of reading, Ratchet directed the younger bot's attention to a listing he'd found. "Thirty-four-year-old male seeking an easy, part-time job in a house with an unlocked door."

His companion gaped for a moment, his optics rereading what he'd just heard. "Ah…I don't think that's necessarily _safe_, Ratchet." He rubbed his temples briefly, trying to get his processors to stop reeling. "He sounds more like a small time crook than a babysitter." The medic grunted in wordless agreement, and turned his gaze back to the paper in his hand; finding nothing of interest, he tossed it to the side, picked up another, and resumed browsing. Not a moment later, Optimus showed him a finding.

"High school senior looking for a part-time babysitting job. Must have big-screen television." After a moment of consideration, he put out, "We have one of those."

"Yes," agreed Ratchet slowly. "But she sounds like she'd be more interested in watching the television than watching Sari."

Both mechs sighed; this was more difficult than they'd expected it to be. Most of the advertisements were anti-crime related, which wasn't completely surprising. Locksmiths, home security companies, double paneled windows for an affordable price…They supposed that parents were doing the smart thing, and not leaving their children home alone with other people, therefore lessening the need for a babysitter altogether.

However, during their internal despair, Ratchet found one last ad.

"Female college student seeks babysitting job to fill in remaining time off campus. Willing to commute, loves children, and is certified in CPR. Will cook/clean if necessary. Will submit to background check/polygraph test upon request. Call for details."

He showed the listing to Optimus, his smile growing increasingly more pronounced the further on he read down the column. Finally, he handed the paper back to the medic.

"I think we've got a winner."

* * *

It was a cold, blustery day at the Michigan State University of Detroit; the fallen leaves from the trees swirled around in a colorful torrent, landing in obscure patterns across the well-worn pavement. She pulled at her MSUD school hoodie, trying to keep the chilly draft out of the confines of her thick garment. It'd been a busy two weeks of final review, and she was almost certain she was getting a B+ in her Differential Equations class, much to her ever-increasing dread; a test from the course was clutched firmly in her hand, made slightly bony by the unaccustomed cold weather.

"Damn, I _knew_ I had it right the first time!" she exclaimed to no one, staring at the professor's red scrawling writing in disbelief. "I need to stop _doing _that!"

Her self-berating rant was cut short as another particularly strong gust of wind threatened to blow her beanie off her freezing head; she instinctively clapped a hand over her hat, waiting out the gust before continuing on down the path to the cafeteria. The thought of her much-awaited lunch compelled her to move faster, having not had time to eat this morning in her mad dash to arrive at school on time.

When she opened the double doors to the food atrium, a breath of warm air wooshed outside to meet her, seeming to engulf her as she stepped into the bustling crowd of fellow students. Keeping up with the flow of traffic, her eyes darted around to the various franchises stationed around the big, open plaza, her gaze first landing on Burger Bot, then Do Jo Jim's Chinese Experience, and finally decided on Charlie's Subs. For once, the line wasn't very long, and after she placed her order, idly fiddled around with her cell phone until the meal was placed on a tray and handed to her with her change.

Finding a quiet spot to dine was a bit of a challenge, but she managed to locate a small table next to the floor-to-ceiling windows; much to her surprise, it even had a wireless internet router stationed at the end of the table. After carefully setting down her tray, she pulled her backpack off her shoulders, 

opened the zipper, and rooted around for her laptop and cooling mat before setting them up and turning them on.

While the computer warmed up, she munched contentedly on her sandwich while perusing over her math exam, occasionally making side notes in the margins as she went along, and remembered that she'd unintentionally turned off her phone when she played with it while in line for her food. She jammed her hand in her pocket, extracted her cell phone, and hit the red power button before sipping on her diet soda.

After making sure that her drink was far away from her computer, she turned her attention back to the screen, opening up the word processor to begin an essay for her Abnormal Psychology class…an essay that should have been started a month ago.

"_Jeez…I really need to stop procrastinating."_

Knowing she was going to need a few sources, she opened her note taking program and looked through last week's file of lectures, finding a particularly interesting discussion they'd had concerning the relationship between prenatal nurturing and the later stages of adult development. Satisfied that she at least had some ground to begin on, she started outlining the topic, creating subtopics and pulling out useful quotes to use for concrete details. But slowly, she began to lose steam, her mind wandering to other pressing matters in her life at the moment.

"_Hmm…I wonder if anyone's seen my ad yet."_

Shaking her head, she took another sip of her soda, cracked her knuckles, and dove back into her outline, determined to at least accomplish _something_ that day.

Time passed by rapidly; she was vaguely aware that the busboy had asked if she'd like her tray to be taken away, and picked up her soda mechanically before nodding. A few friends dropped by to check up on her, but left after they found she wasn't about to take a break from her writing, taking her empty soda cup and replacing it with an energy drink on their way out. Though too focused to say so, she greatly appreciated the extra caffeine.

"_Because I'm definitely gonna need it if I'm going to finish this essay on time."_

At last, the end of the outline was near; the sun was beginning to set outside, and inside the cafeteria, the night-class crowd were making their way inside to catch a bit of dinner during the break between their courses. Her fingers were stiff, her wrists ached, but she was satisfied that she had a beautiful preparation for her essay. All she had to do now was pull the sentences from the outline and set them in essay format-

_Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt. _

She jumped as her cell phone vibrated unexpectedly in her pocket, jarring her out of her zombie-like state induced from deep concentration; not one to be slowed down, she flipped open her phone, pinned 

it between her shoulder and ear, answering it," Hello?", while saving her document and cleaning up her materials.

"Ummm…yes, I'm answering the advertisement placed in the newspaper classifieds. It said to call this number for details on a babysitter?"

"_Well, I suppose this can take my full attention."_

Putting down her cooling pad, she smiled, and replied,"Yeah, this is the right number." Pulling her beanie down over her ears, she asked, "Were you interested in hiring a babysitter?"

"Yes, actually." The voice paused for several moments before questioning," Would you like the job?"

"_Yes! Yes! YES!"_

"That sounds great." She just barely managed to keep her cool, and asked for the time and place she should be for her interview. After receiving both pieces of information, she thanked the caller, promised to be at his home in due time, but nearly forgot one other thing. "Who should I ask for?"

"Ask for Optimus. I'll be waiting for your arrival."

After a moment, she hung up her phone, vaguely aware of her new task, and finished packing up her laptop and cooling pad. After slinging her bag back over her shoulder, taking one last look around to ensure that she hadn't forgotten anything, and waving goodbye to several friends, she headed out into the cold once more, shivering as her cheeks came into contact with the nippy air. While on her way to her car, thoughts about her impending job interview plagued her mind…

"_What If he tries to mug me? What if this is all just a plan to attack me?" _Unconsciously, she touched the miniature can of pepper spray attached to her keychain. _"Well, if he tries anything, I'll be ready."_

* * *

Once again, shifts had been swapped back at the Autobot base; this time, however, Optimus had remained behind to interview the new potential babysitter. With him was Bulkhead, Prowl having felt too tired to remain awake for such an unimportant matter, who was eager to spend a little extra time with the Boss-Bot.

"So…when should she be here?" he asked inquisitively, shifting his gaze out the nearby window once again.

"Soon, Bulkhead. She's coming."

The two bots sat in silence for a little while longer before the unmistakable sound of a car approaching could be heard outside the base. The driver appeared to be checking to see if they had the correct address, and seeing that they did, they pulled into the long driveway, parking their car neatly next to one of the entrances. The faint "_thud"_ of a car door opening and closing echoed around the empty front courtyard, followed by the crunching of fallen leaves as they made their way to the hangar entrance.

"Hello?" called a feminine voice, echoing in the cavernous hallway. "Hello?" After a short pause, the girl continued," I'm here to see Optimus for a job interview."

"Yes…come in," responded the Autobot leader, smiling when the young woman peeked her head out from around the corner, gasping at the sight of the two enormous mechs before her. "I'm Optimus Prime, and this is my friend, Bulkhead," he gestured to the larger green mech. Noticing her apprehension, he informed her, "It's alright…we're not going to harm you."

Appearing fully from behind the corner, she waved up at the two of them. "I'm Kayla." Cocking her head to the side, she continued, "It's nice to meet you." A thought suddenly occurred to her, causing her small smile to turn into worry. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to stare! It's just that I've never-"

"Met an Autobot before?" asked Bulkhead with a chuckle.

"Well, not in person…just on television." She stood beside their feet, gazing up at them in wonder. "Holy crap, you guys are tall."

"Ummm…thank you."

Optimus stared at the young woman, taking in her appearance. She was small, probably by human standards as well, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans, an oversized school sweatshirt, and a pair of well-used Converses; her hair was tucked underneath a black beanie, and the backpack on her shoulders had definitely seen better days. Kayla's face looked kind, olive skin smooth with youth, and bore a pair of large blue-green eyes. Eyes that were probably taking him in as well.

After a long moment of silence, she finally sat herself on Sari's beanbag chair, crossed her legs, and let her bag drop softly to the floor. "So…" she gazed expectantly up at her employers. "When do I work?"

"Daily, if possible." Optimus grimaced as a look of surprise flashed across her face. "Or whenever you can. I mean, you don't really-"

"No…that's alright." The two mechs exchanged a puzzled look. "I mean, I'm trying to write a paper for my Abnormal Psychology class; the course itself shouldn't last much longer, but I've sort of…procrastinated."

"You could do your paper here," offered Bulkhead, gesturing around the base. "There's plenty of places for you to work."

She eyed her laptop momentarily. "Well, I suppose I could-"

"And the entire base is outfitted with wireless internet," pointed out Optimus. "So you can do your research here as well."

After another moment of contemplation, she hedged," I suppose I _have_ met the quota for the number of classes that I need to attend…" Her interviewers could sense that something else was coming, and remained silent as encouragement to continue. "The only problem is that I'm lacking a really solid 

topic." She gestured to her backpack. "I mean, sure…I've got an okay topic. But I wanted to find something groundbreaking, to conduct some really wild study that could even get _published_, and I-" she froze, her facial expression a mixture between shocked and amazed as she gazed first at her bag, then at the Autobots, who'd thought she'd had an internal glitch. "Wait a second…" Kayla leaped from the beanbag chair, strode over to Optimus, and placed her hand on his massive foot. "What if I wrote my research paper on _you guys?_"

"On Autobots?" questioned the leader of said faction. He contemplated the possibility for a moment, his smile abruptly turning into a frown. "But what if the research was somehow leaked to the Decepticons?"

"It wouldn't," she reassured him. "This information would be used for academic purposes only."

Bulkhead decided to put his two cents in as well. "It'll be fun, Boss-Bot! We'll have a bit of new company around here to liven things up a bit…"

"And that could be my payment in return for watching…erm?" Kayla looked to Optimus for help.

"Sari." He explained with a smile. "She's the child you'd be looking after."

No one said another word, all glancing anxiously between one and the other; a silent question was now being posed, and needed a response before someone spontaneously combusted from the sheer tension in the room.

Finally, after what seemed to be _eons_, Optimus turned to Kayla with a smile. "I don't see why not. You're hired."

"Yes!" cheered both Bulkhead and Kayla. "Oh man, this is gonna rock!"

Already emboldened by her new subjects, the small human began spouting off all of her newfound excitement, eagerly pacing back and forth across the large expanse of the living room floor.

"I mean, we're talking about a real 'mover and shaker' paper here; _I'm_ going to be the first human to study Transformer Psychology! It's historic, for god's sake! Oh man…I can't _wait _to tell my professor…"

The two mechs exchanged amused glances as Kayla continued to rave, her excitement growing with each passing second.

Little did they realize that this would begin a world of Pit for a fellow Autobot, as they unsuspectingly continued to smile…

* * *

Author's Note: Well…that's it for the first chappie, guys! Feedback is welcome; tell me what you think!

I need some inspiration to keep on writing this fic!


	2. Meet the New Babysitter

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! The Transformers are the sole property of Hasbro, and I'm merely a bored person who has nothing better to do with my time…

Note: NO FLAMES PLEASE! I'm always open to constructive criticism/beta offers. But being rude is seriously not cool. If you think my fic is THAT bad, then just stop reading it.

Summary: With the recent wave of crime sweeping Detroit, the Autobots are unable to keep a close optic on Sari. So when a local college student advertises to babysit, they immediately jump at the offer. Little do they know the chaos that will ensue...

Enigma

Previously:

_The two mechs exchanged amused glances as Kayla continued to rave, her excitement growing with each passing second._

_Little did they realize that this would begin a world of Pit for a fellow Autobot, as they unsuspectingly continued to smile…_

* * *

Time seemed to fly by quickly, and it was agreed upon by Optimus and Kayla that it would be best if she started watching Sari fresh in the morning, when she was rested, and had her full attention to devote to the girl.

"Alright guys," she said with a barely-stifled yawn, one hand covering her mouth while the other scooped up her bag and car keys. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning." After a thought, she inquired, "You still have my phone number? Just in case…"

Optimus moved to stand beside her, placing his enormous fingertips on her back in reassurance. "Yes, we have a method to contact you."

She yawned again, this time, too exhausted to bother concealing it. "'Kay." With the push of a button on the keyless entry, her car alarm disarmed itself with a tiny _beep beep_, and she opened the passenger side door, depositing her backpack in the seat before closing the door, and walking around to the driver's side. "G'night Optimus, Bulkhead. Pleasant dreams!"

Optimus smiled as she opened the driver's side door. "Goodnight, Kayla. We hope you have pleasant dreams as well."

Kayla waved wearily at the two of them before swinging into the driver's seat, closing the door, and starting the engine; her car, a little black hybrid, pulled out from in front of the base, and began to disappear into the darkness of the city until the tail lights were no longer visible in the inky blackness of the enormous buildings looming up ahead.

After a moment of silence, once Kayla's car had vanished from their line of vision, Bulkhead turned to his leader. "You think we did the right thing, Prime? Hiring a babysitter for Sari?"

The Autobot leader thought for a moment, considering all aspects of the situation with his chin in his hand, and carefully explained, "I think we owe it to both Sari and her father. It's been months since his disappearance, and I think a tremendous load would be lifted from his shoulders if he knew that his daughter was being cared for in his absence."

"Yeah, you're probably right." The larger bot processed what Prime had said before continuing, "I wonder what Sari'll do."

"Sari's a big girl," said Optimus with a small smile. "I'm sure she'll understand our reasoning."

"Yeah," agreed Bulkhead as they turned to head back inside the base. "She'll be fine."

Without another word on the subject, the two Autobots headed indoors, completely confident in both Sari's maturity and Kayla's capabilities as a babysitter.

All that was left was to introduce them.

* * *

Right on time, at six 'o clock that morning, the familiar sound of an approaching car alerted Optimus to the arrival of his new employee. Anticipating her entrance, he pushed one of the numerous buttons on Teletraan's console, automatically opening the large hangar door for easier access. Turning his attention back to the monitor, he assumed that she'd find her own way in, buying him a few more precious moments of searching for either a trace leading to the Decepticon base, or an Allspark fragment.

"Goooood morning, Optimus!"

The poor mech nearly leaped out of his chassis at the sudden noise, but smiled kindly at the harmless sing-song tone of her voice; she'd come prepared, her backpack slung lazily over one shoulder, and meandered her way over to him as she took in her surroundings.

"It looks different during the daytime," she commented as she set down her bag, and sat herself in Sari's beanbag chair. "A lot lighter."

The Autobot leader couldn't think of a response off the top of his processor, and chose to progress through the conversation with a simple question. "How are you, Kayla?"

"Pretty good," she took a moment to fan herself. "But slightly hot." Her hands reached down to the hem of her school sweatshirt, crossing her arms as she did so; without warning, she froze, and turned to Optimus with questioning eyes. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all." He averted his optics as she removed her outermost garment, leaving her in her jeans, sneakers, and a plain black t-shirt, stretched tight across her small form from the many washes it'd no doubt undergone. Feeling sheepish, he added, "The heat was supposed to be for your comfort. Would you like me to turn it down?"

"Just a tad," she laughed, folding her sweatshirt before shoving it unceremoniously into her bag. "But not too much; I get cold very easily."

As he turned down the temperature controls, he couldn't hold back a bit of laughter at how outrageous her statement was. "Then what are you doing here in Detroit? This city doesn't have the kindest of winters."

Pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, Kayla scribbled something down before turning her attention back to him. "Trust me, it won't be a permanent thing. I'm only here because the Michigan State University of Detroit has one of the best engineering programs in the country; my home is actually in Southern California, and I'll be returning there as soon as I receive my Master's degree."

After digesting all the information she'd just provided him, he asked another question. "Engineering? I thought you were writing a 'psychology' paper."

"I am," she rose from her seat and adjusted her position before sitting once again. "Abnormal Psychology was the last of a series of 'elective courses' I needed to take. Everything else has all been accounted for, except for my frickin' Differential Equations class." A growl emanating her frustration permeated the calm atmosphere as she continued, "That class'll be the death of me! I'm _trying_ to keep up my 4.5 grade point average, but that instructor always has some new curve ball to throw at me!"

Optimus turned, and pulled up a few things on Teletraan's browser in an attempt to make heads or tails of what she'd just said. "So…I assume that Differential Equations is a mathematics course, and that a 'grade point average' is how well you're scoring in your classes, a 4.5 being considered one of the highest possible results."

"Pretty much," she agreed, showing him her textbook. "I'm supposed to be in the running for valedictorian, but I'm not sure anymore now that I got my last DifEqs exam back, and I got a B, for cryin' out loud!" The Autobot leader found the offending test being shoved toward him, and only watched as her exasperation grew.

"Well…" he pondered for a few minutes before continuing. "This course looks very difficult. You seem like an intelligent person, but maybe math isn't your strongest point in your education."

The only response was a frustrated sigh, to which he could add nothing. "Don't worry about it…" she waved a hand airily, pulling on her beanie to further cover her head. "I'll get everything sorted out eventually." After pulling on her errant hat for a third time, she finally screamed in agitation, ripped it off, and flung it across the room. "Stupid hat…" she grumbled darkly, glaring at the offending beanie with narrowed eyes.

But Optimus didn't follow her gaze; he was far too shocked by her drastic haircut to even spare a glance at the poor hat, which Kayla was now collecting. Her hair was…short, really short. It was an average medium-brown color, not uncommon to see out on the street, and couldn't have been longer than an inch and a half, the center section down the center of her head spiked up into what Sari had once called a 'fauxhawk'. The beanie left her ears exposed as well; he noticed that they were pierced multiple times, four on the left, three and a silver bar on the right, which looked to be extremely uncomfortable. She finally looked toward him again, revealing yet _another_ feature of hers that he failed to notice: she even had her right _eyebrow_ pierced, a tiny curved barbell passing beneath her skin. The very thought of it made him shudder, and he looked away as she fiddled with it while speaking.

"What?" she questioned curiously, obviously not bothered by his reaction. "Never seen a human with piercings before?"

"No…not really." He tried to ignore the discomfort plaguing his audio receptors, pushing the images of having them pierced with a metal rod out of his processor.

"Heeeey! Look who's up!" Kayla's attention had drifted away from the Autobot leader and shifted toward Sari, who was sleepily making her way into the living room of the base, still clad in her pajamas. "G'morning, Sleeping Beauty!"

Her zombie-like walk immediately halted; she was now fully alert in this stranger's presence, and shot a questioning look at Optimus. "Uh…who's she?"

"This is your new babysitter," he gestured to the human with an open hand, introducing the two of them. "Her name is Kayla, and she'll be around to keep you company while we're out on patrol."

"What?!" Apparently, she wasn't going to take this as well as he'd hoped. "You mean she's gonna treat me like a little kid 24/7?"

"No, I'm not." Kayla intervened, holding up a hand to halt Sari's rant. "I'm just here to look out for you." The young girl still looked suspicious, her brow furrowed and her lips pursed tight. "Think of it this way: Now, you've got someone to do all sorts of crazy stuff with!" The older girl jabbed her thumb into her chest, gesturing to herself. "I'm _not_ some stick in the mud here to ruin your fun!"After a moment of glancing around, she noticed a game console sitting in front of the television. "Wanna play some video games?"

"Cool!" Sari was immediately enthusiastic about the proposition, seeing as how Bumblebee wouldn't be up for several hours, and rushed to turn on the game system as her caretaker walked back over to Optimus.

"See?" she questioned, a somewhat smug expression teasing at her facial features. "I've got everything _perfectly_ under control."

He nodded in agreement. "So it seems." A soft sigh cycled through his air intakes as he checked the time on his internal time keeper. "Ratchet's coming back from his patrol any klik now, which means it's time for me to head out." Optimus turned back to Kayla, a slight bit of apprehension flickering in his optics. "Just try to keep things down a bit; with our frequent shifts, we've always got a couple mechs in stasis…"

"Sure thing!" she waved off his worries with a careless hand, obviously not needing further instruction before his departure. "Don't worry, we won't burn the base down."

Still slightly wary, especially from that last remark, the Autobot leader cast one last reluctant gaze about the room, and turned to leave, still slightly unsure about whether or not what he was doing was right. "And you're sure that you two will be fine?"

"Trust me."

He departed without another word, not realizing that he'd set the board, and that the pieces were beginning to move.

* * *

Prowl's latest night shift had been exhausting; he'd managed to both thwart the Angry Archer and temporarily ward off Lockdown, though the second of the two tasks exhausted him more. After returning back to the base in the early hours of the morning, he'd been vaguely aware of Prime moving about on the lower level, and finally, the mechanical noise of the large hangar door opening before he'd drifted off into a relatively peaceful stasis. It was a pleasant, dreamless rest, with nothing barring the simple, pure recharge that he needed before his shift began again tonight.

However, several hours into his much-needed sleep, something downstairs faintly tickled the back of his processor.

"Oh, OH, _OH!_ I've got you now!"

"_No way_, man! You're _all mine!_"

This minor noise wasn't enough to jar him from recharge, and pinning it as a figment of his nearly non-existent imagination, he grunted, rolled over, and fell deep into stasis once again, his mind going blissfully and completely blank as he rested.

For a while, it seemed as though he might actually finish a complete recharge cycle for the first time in Primus knew how long, but –of course– it would never come to pass. He distantly heard another bout of yelling drift upstairs, which brought him to the very barrier between stasis and wakefulness.

"Yes! Yes! Go, go, go!"

"Feel the wrath of my ultimate weapons!"

Ignoring the sounds from downstairs yet again, Prowl rolled over, but had to concentrate hard on stasis before he felt himself begin to rest again. However, the peace didn't last longer than a few seconds before-

"YES! YES! _YEEEEES! _Booya! Told you I'd win! TOLD YOU! TOLD YOU! TOLD YOU!"

That was it. As a sane mech, he knew he could take no more of this racket, and onlined his optics, rubbing his visor in frustration as he pounded down the stairs to investigate the source of his restlessness. What he found didn't completely surprise him: Sari was playing video games again, which always seemed to stir up a ruckus in the base. This time, however, it wasn't with Bumblebee, as it normally was.

Another human was sitting beside Sari, and both were entirely absorbed in their video game. He assumed the newcomer to be male, judging by their exceptionally short haircut, and decided that rather speak with a stranger, he'd talk to his more familiar human companion.

Noticing that both were wearing headphones, he gently pulled up the panel covering Sari's right ear and asked quite bluntly, "Do you _mind_? Some of us _are_ trying to sleep in here." Upon seeing the grouchy look his facial features had adopted, she laughed.

Apparently, the stranger didn't have the volume in their headphones raised as much as he first assumed. "Yeah…sorry. We _were_ being kinda loud." Prowl felt confused, and mentally slapped himself when he realized that the guest was _female_. "I'm Kayla, by the way," she introduced herself with a smile, obviously not bothered by his sour mood. "I'll be watching over Sari now to give you guys a break."

"Prowl." As always, he spoke as little as possible, determined not to get caught up in conversation when he _could _be recharging. "Now that this little problem has been resolved, I'm going to resume my stasis. Goodbye Sari, Kayla."

He acknowledged them both with brief nods before heading back upstairs for more rest, and on the way up, he couldn't help but overhear the elder of the two girls giggle, "You know, he was actually pretty cute…"

_Ugh, human flirting is so confusing._

He stole a second glance at the girls, only to see that Kayla had a set of car keys in hand, and that the two of them were headed outside to her car; the two of them looked eager to get outside the dreary confines of the base, and he dismissed their urgency without another thought as he continued down the hallway to his private quarters. Downstairs, he could hear Sari complementing her guardian's hair and odd piercings, calling them 'cool'…

_She seemed a bit…off to me. Perhaps traits like hers are the style these days. But who knows; fads here on Earth change more suddenly than the weather._

The distant roar of a car engine could be heard outside the base, and he knew they'd already left. So, thinking nothing more of it, he settled back down in his quarters and offlined his optics, falling back into recharge now that peace and quiet reigned once again.

Little did he know that this was only the beginning of his torture.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry I didn't update the first time; I _did_ post a new chapter, but I absolutely hated it. I didn't want to post utter crap, so to those of you who I might've deceived, I apologize. I hope you guys enjoyed this chappie!


	3. Slumber Party!

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! The Transformers are the sole property of Hasbro, and I'm merely a bored person who has nothing better to do with my time…

Note: NO FLAMES PLEASE! I'm always open to constructive criticism/beta offers. But being rude is seriously not cool. If you think my fic is THAT bad, then just stop reading it.

Summary: With the recent wave of crime sweeping Detroit, the Autobots are unable to keep a close optic on Sari. So when a local college student advertises to babysit, they immediately jump at the offer. Little do they know the chaos that will ensue...

Enigma

Previously:

_The distant roar of a car engine could be heard outside the base, and he knew they'd already left. So, thinking nothing more of it, he settled back down in his quarters and offlined his optics, falling back into recharge now that peace and quiet reigned once again._

_Little did he know that this was only the beginning of his torture..._

* * *

For once, Prowl couldn't complain as he awoke from recharge in his quarters.

Since Sari and her odd friend had left the base, he hadn't been plagued with another disturbance, and was actually able to fully rest himself before his shift that evening. Processors still slightly foggy after their initial reboot, he shuffled his way downstairs into the Autobots' common area, poured himself some energon from the dispenser, and seated himself on their couch before turning on the big-screen television.

_Primus, I feel like a television zombie_, he mused to himself as he automatically flipped through the channels to the Nature Network. Finding the appropriate station, he lowered the volume to half its obnoxious level, crossed his legs on the sofa, and idly sipped at his energon as he watched a California Condor soar over an unnamed red canyon. _I have to give Bumblebee some credit, however. Television can have its merits…_

Moments later, his counterpart made his lazy way into the common area, and retrieved a bit of energon before sitting down beside him. For once, he didn't make a rude remark about the presence of the Nature Network; instead, he watched in silence for several moments before turning toward his teammate.

"'Evening, Prowl", he said amiably, swirling his energon in its container.

_Well, this is a pleasant change._ "Good evening, Bumblebee." The corners of his mouth components twitched up into a faint ghost of a smile. "I trust you recharged well."

"Yeah, actually. I did." Bumblebee set his drink down, and turned to face Prowl before continuing,"It seemed unusually quiet, but it was kinda nice."

"You can than Sari's babysitter for that." The yellow scout looked confused, tilting his head to encourage an explanation. "Prime hired another human to watch Sari for us. They woke me up early this morning-"

"That must've been fun," he interrupted with a laugh. Upon seeing the slightly miffed look his friend was giving him, he chortled,"You're not exactly Mr. Personality Bot when you're woken up too early."

Prowl's intakes huffed indignantly at the friendly jab. "But after they left, I actually recharged peacefully. I wonder where they could have run off to for so long…"

Bumblebee shrugged, but said nothing. For a while, only the sounds of the Nature Network were present in the empty base, allowing both mechs time to sip at their energon and contemplate in peace; never one to be still for long, the yellow scout shrieked, and leaped out of his seat when a particularly graphic program about human cannibalism began, the high definition blood and entrails too much for him to handle. The unholy sound jarred Prowl from his reverie, and upon seeing why his friend had screamed, immediately flipped to the next channel, a generic –but viewer safe—cooking show.

"Primus, what were those humans _doing?_" he questioned weakly, optics wide and vocal processor crackly.

"If my eyes serve me correctly, they were engaging in cannibalism, dude. You know, when someone eats the flesh of someone else of their own kind," laughed an unfamiliar voice from behind him. Noticing the bot's hands clapped over his optics, the voice laughed again. "God, you guys are such lightweights when it comes to gore."

"Seriously, Bumblebee!" Sari patted his enormous foot in a half-hearted attempt to calm him. "You might wanna stay out later tonight, then…Because we're having a MEGA SCARY MOVIE MARATHON!"

"We?" The yellow scout uncovered his optics. "Who's this 'we'?"

"Me and Kayla!" she gestured to the older girl standing beside her. "We're having a slumber party!"

Ever the rain on a parade, Prowl stood, met the two girls, and asked sternly,"Does Prime know?"

The new girl waved a careless hand. "Of course Optimus knows, we asked him!" Turning to Bumblebee, she flashed him a toothy grin. "I'm Kayla, by the way. Sari's new babysitter…"

Upon seeing her upbeat attitude, quirky haircut, and numerous piercings, he immediately grinned back. "Now _this _is what I'm talkin' about! A human that knows how to party!"

_Oh, sweet Primus._

* * *

"What?!" balked Bumblebee in disbelief. "How is that fair, Boss Bot?! He's just a bolt in the mud!"

Gesturing to the ninjabot, Optimus smiled tiredly. "Prowl took your shift last week, now, you can take his. It's only fair, Bumblebee."

"But he won't even join in the fun!"

"That's an order, soldier."

Muttering unpleasant things under his breath, Bumblebee marched outside the base and transformed, taking off the instant his wheels hit the pavement; from inside the common area, squealing tires reached the ears of everyone present, Optimus' kind facial features twisting into a grimace as he envisioned the thick black lines of rubber marring the clean driveway.

Sari and Kayla had run off to go change into their pajamas, leaving Prowl and his commander alone. "Don't worry," Optimus placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's only for tonight." After a moment of silent contemplation, he added, "You two didn't get along well, did you?"

The ninjabot sighed, air cycling softly through his intakes as he wearily sank back onto the couch. He shrugged, facing Prime as he explained, "I only interacted with her briefly; she unintentionally woke me this morning playing video games with Sari." Optimus nodded in understanding, giving his friend an encouraging nod. "She seemed rather…bold."

"A blessing and a curse in itself," agreed the younger as he sat beside Prowl. "Maybe you two just got off to a bad start."

"Mmm…maybe."

Sounds of muffled laughing and screaming wafted from down the hall, directly below his personal quarters. The two bots' audios could make out Kayla saying something, and then Sari saying, well, something _else_ appreciatively; with her already excitable nature, this new sitter –young and full of energy–would only add fuel to the fire, much to Prowl's growing dismay.

"PILLOW FIGHT!"

More shouting reached their audios, this time, causing the ninjabot to hold his head in his hands, a throbbing ache beginning to build in his processor.

"It's going to be a long night."

* * *

As much as Prowl dreaded the forthcoming scary movie marathon –scary movies meant more high-pitched screaming–, he was almost relieved when a loud banging on the hangar door gave him something to keep his thoughts on.

_Hmm, no energy signature. It couldn't be a Decepticon; they wouldn't actually __**knock**__ on the front door of our base before-_

"Delivery from Pizza Palace!"

_Wait…what?_

But before he could even form a coherent thought, Kayla had poked her spiky-haired head around the corner, and streaked past him to the door.

He gasped. Surely she wouldn't be stupid enough to-

Apparently, she was. She opened the door, without taking _any_ precautions, stepped outside, and handed a male roughly her own age a few bills of currency; he, in turn, surrendered a large white cardboard box. Happy with her prize, she skipped off through the common area, down the hall, and back to Sari's room without a backward glance. Poor Prowl was dumbfounded at her lack of concern, his shocked gaze following her.

_That could have been a burglar...or a rapist... or, or a Decepticon!_

Beside himself, he followed her back to Sari's bedroom; even from outside the hallway, upbeat music could be heard blasting from the inside, frequently punctuated with excited bouts of chattering between the two girls. Cautiously, he walked around the corner and into the doorway to give the two of them a stern talking-to.

His eyes met a room in cheerful disarray, with sleeping bags spread out in front of the television, popcorn sprinkling the floor, and dozens of CDs and magazines piled up beside the stereo. Sari and Kayla were sitting on a cluster of cushions, sharing the pizza that Kayla had ordered between them.

Without warning, the elder of the two girls thumped her chest repeatedly, and proclaimed, "Okay, okay. Here it goes!" She gulped down a mouthful of air, and let loose a deafening belch, causing Sari to burst into hysterical laughter.

Sari applauded vigorously. "My turn!" the younger took a big gulp of soda, swallowed some air, and managed a smaller, but still impressive burp. "Aww…you win."

It was then that Prowl made his presence known; he stepped into the room wearing a horrified look on his normally placid faceplates, not able to believe his audio receptors as they continued to laugh uncontrollably. The girls remained unfazed, and both greeted him with enthusiasm as he gawked at their less-than-ladylike behavior.

"What's up, Prowl?" asked Kayla with a grin, gesturing for him to take a seat with them. "You seem pretty freaked out."

He shuddered as Sari let out another belch –this one louder than the last—and the older girl praised her. "That…is repulsive."

"It's not gross!" defended Sari, her hands planted firmly on her hips. "It's natural!"

Unperturbed by the exchange, Kayla turned to her charge and gave a healthy bark of laughter."Now, Sari…If Prowl thinks it's disgusting, we'll have to find some other way to entertain ourselves."

She sent the ninjabot a crooked smile, stood up, and bent all the way over backwards, an audible cracking noise reaching his audio receptors.

"Unnngh" he shivered, watching as she stood upright, locked eyes with him again, and twisted her neck to the right, and then to the left. Another two series of pops and cracks reached his audios, causing him to twitch as the sounds seemed to scrape against his processors like nails on a blackboard. "Ugh…What is that revolting sound?"

Both girls looked at each other with identical mischievous grins, then to Prowl –who was immediately suspicious– and then cracked their knuckles at the same time, giggling when he clapped his hands over his audios. He bit back a snippy comment about the unpleasantness of bodily noises, and his mouth components turned down as they started mimicking his reactions.

"Wait! Prowl! Don't leave!"

_Don't do it. Don't listen, don't give in…_

With a resigned sigh, he turned back around, narrowed his optics in distaste, and stood firm against any possible snarky remark that was to come. "Yes?"

"I've invited the other Autobots…but would you like to come to my 'Graduation Jump' tomorrow?" Letting down his defenses a bit upon not having his descency impugned, Prowl allowed himself to raise an optic ridge, and say nothing, waiting for her to continue. "It's something I've been training for for years, and this is the final step of the process." He still looked skeptical, but the master wheedler that she was, Kayla informed him in a sing-song voice, _"Everyone_ will be there…"

Sari decided to put in her two cents as well. "It's gonna be awesome!"

The ninjabot was stuck in the middle of a churning self-conflict: Go, know what all the fuss was about, and give in to the demands of a human he barely knew, and already disliked. Or not go, miss out on something worthwhile, and never hear the end about it from the other Autobots, especially Bumblebee…

_Primus, he'd never drop it. It'd be worse than the time I bet he couldn't keep quiet._ He heaved another heavy sigh, air cycling loudly through his intakes in frustration. _What if I regret my absence? Then I'd have to apologize, which I was never really any good at…_

He was torn from his thoughts by two pairs of glassy puppy-dog eyes staring up at him, seeming to shine with tears as they silently pleaded with him.

_Not the leaking. __**Anything**__ but the leaking._

With one last sigh, Prowl decided it was best to simply bite the bullet, agree, and suffer through whatever she was going to forcibly drag them all through; with Sari on her side, and Sari's current situation with her father and his company –the Autobots were trying to make her as happy as possible in her fragile state– there was no way to say "no" without hurting her feelings, and getting in some serious slag with Prime. This, personally, was the absolute last thing he needed right now with all the chaos going on.

"Fine," he groaned, doing his best to ignore their celebration dance as he gave in. He had to leave with as much of his dignity intact as possible..."I'll go."

Both girls screamed, Kayla being so bold as to jump up, and embrace his leg the best she could out of sheer joy. "Thank you, Prowl! You won't regret it, I promise!"

_Primus, I need to get out…_

"Mmhm…" he diverted his optics as he made a mental escape route out of the room. Neither girl seemed to notice as he slowly began to back away from them, and to distract them, he called out, "It isn't going to be dangerous, is it?"

The elder was quick to respond. "Nope! Not at all!" She gave a quick wave as she turned her attention away from him, and back to the pile of movies they had to sort through. "See ya tomorrow!"

But in his haste to leave the room, Prowl failed to see her crossed fingers behind her back.

* * *

Author's Note: Yes everybody…I _am _alive! There's just been a lot of drama going on for a while, and it's become worse than ever, unfortunately. I apologize for taking so long to update; I'll try to be much quicker this time.

For those of you who said so, I'm glad you find Kayla to be realistic; I'm sick of seeing all these OCs coming in, and immediately becoming Mary Sues _(rolls eyes)_, and I'm glad you don't think she's one of them…

In the meantime, let me know what you guys think! Your feedback is greatly appreciated!


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